Round Up in Hampton Minnesota celebrates its 40 year anniversary this weekend on Saturday, July the 2nd. Festivities are to go all day long with Happy Hour all day. A DJ is going to start playing at about 8 PM to help liven up the event. There will also be door prices and more.

The bar is located just 2 blocks off of 52 in the heart of Hampton, Minnesota. Expect a good small town crowd in casual dress. Be prepared to do some drinking and to have some fun. Feel free to call for more information or just show up ready to celebrate!

The Black Stallion of Hampton is a bit of the old time supper club. Prime rib is the specialty of the house with all you can seafood at times. The decor is a bit dated but over all it is a fantastic piece of Americana. This type of place is being replaced all over America with the fast food and specialty restaurant chains. If you want the same exact thing that you can get in any chain restaurant anywhere in America then you might be disappointed as this. If you want the real deal of a family owned restaurant that offers a full menu then you will be delighted.

Add in a lively bar crowd for the frequent live music and I think you have a hit for a great stop in a small town eating place. Almost every night features a different act or type of music. They have a little bit of something for everyone. Texas Holdem night is the one I would not want to miss. Come in for the food and stay for the drinks is more then just a motto.

Located right on 52 in Hampton this is one of those places that you can’t miss.

This is the latest in my ongoing quest for dinner restaurants open on
Sundays. In response to some buzz about The Black Stallion in Hampton, I
decided to check it out. Knowing this place has changed hands over the
years I decided to bring a long time Cannon Falls resident along for
historic comparison sake! We arrived to live music in the bar (remember
this was Sunday) which started about 8pm. It was not loud, and this
provided an alive feel to the place. Moreover, there is nowhere in
Cannon Falls with live music after 5pm on any night, at least to my
knowledge – so that is duly noted. I understand they have live piano
music in the dining room on weekends (and other live music later). The
baby grand sitting in the dining room supports this theory, plus it
looks nice – so, win, win! The d?cor is, well, not too bad and about
what you might expect – they do have a patio off the bar now, or maybe
it was always there, not sure – but there were people using it which I
don’t recall seeing before. However, there is a plan for a deck off the
back, and overlooking the baseball field, which is even more intriguing.
We’ll check back. In the mean time, my Cannon Falls advisor noted the
d?cor is a bit more cheery, and a bit kitschy – but better than it has
been in many years – faint hints of elegance here and there, but missing
a bronze bust of Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra. As I understand it, this
was a really great place for many years and then went into slight
disarray in recent years. But overall, we agreed it was generally
pleasant AND you can see outside. There is no fu-fu on the menu here,
this is the 1970’s supper club menu we all know, comfort food, steaks,
chicken, fish and a variety of very familiar sides. We started off with
some onion rings, which were tasty, seemingly homemade and not greasy.
Over at the bar they know how to make a martini, and they have some
decent call liquor. Nothing on tap that you don’t see advertised every
day, but they have a few good bottled beer selections – which they pour
into a glass for you (and I tell you it is the little things!) The
ribs are very good, substantial, tender, good BBQ sauce. I tried the
walleye which was broiled with herbs and served up flaky with drawn
butter and rice. Well, with whatever you want, you have a good variety
of sides from various potatoes to soup from which to choose to accompany
each entr?e. Good classic dinners for the price. And yep, the hash
browns were downright top notch, which evidently was a hallmark at one
point in their history. Totally expected, but always mystifying to me is
the bagged iceberg lettuce salad with a slice of onion and a couple
cherry tomatoes. One thing I noticed they have is good service, the
nuanced kind where you don’t notice that your plates are cleared, water
is filled, and other needs are met with no asking – further, no one is
trying to up-sell you dessert… So, place your bets – this Black Stallion
could give Wiederholdt’s a run for their money in next year’s run for
the area supper club title.

Gangsterland is a documentory on the criminals that ran freely in St Paul in the 1930′s. Parts of it were filmed in Hampton, Minnesota. The Barkers and John Dilinger are some of the better known gangsters who took advantage of St Paul lax police system during this era. Look for a few Hampton locals as well as backdrops for the scenes.

They are featuring a great article on soybean planting today. Pretty good idea for those of us in the area that are thinking about that exact topic. Overall it is a pretty good read as they tend to have the local city news and also a good blend of the Dakota County news thrown in. They are just a few minutes up the road from us so I would have thought they were still in Goodhue County.

We share links with them as Hampton does not currently have a Bed and Breakfast. So we are the closest and hopefully can serve their needs. Keep up the good work Hampton News!

This is a great stop if you on Highway 52. It makes for a nice change from the fast food fare that lots of places have on the highways of America. Get a great meal at decent price with some small town flavor thrown in. No need to dress up or worry about any of that as the place is casual but delivers more then is promises.

Breakfast, that is the best they have to offer. You can get a huge amazing breakfast for about $5. So if you are looking for a great deal on breakfast are in the Southeastern Minnesota are then this is the spot. Of course if you have just stayed at the Quill and Quilt Bed and Breakfast, then you don’t need this tip.

Hampton is a just a few minutes north of Cannon Falls on Highway 52. They do not currently have a Bed and Breakfast like the Quill and Quilt but we are so close we hopefully can fulfill that need.

Update:

So… We made it over to Little Oscars this weekend. Again, they are open on Sundays, although we went on Saturday in the mood for a little diner grub. It turns out they make their soups (in fact most things) there, so the vegetable beef had nice big chunks of carrots and other veggies, cooked through but you could taste them – and interspersed with a substantial amount of different size pieces of beef indicating less machine processing – think Mom’s soup, not Campbell’s. Anyway, great diner food and you can sit in the restaurant dining style room or the diner style room. Either way, they have breakfast all day, a range of food and classic diner sandwiches – I had the spaghetti, which was clearly homemade and with fresh grated Parmesan. One fun thing is the trolley, (see photo)– you just don’t have a trolley going around the dining room in most restaurants anymore – Mr. Rogers would be proud. And then, get this! Yeah, I drive by every day but I never noticed, they have a huge very well done garden out back. (see photo). This is unexpected but a really nice touch, it helps to take the edge off the “right on US Hwy 52” effect. So, wander through a beautiful garden and enjoy a home cooked tasty diner style dinner for two on a Saturday night, for about $20. Nice.